Recently I had the chance to go on a missions trip to New Orleans to help victims from Hurricane Katrina. Me and a team of 12 others from Greenville College all piled in two traverses and drove the 12 hours to Louisiana over Spring Break. There were many reasons that I chose to go. The above video was shot by a TV station crew during the week I was down there. I am the one with the green headband and white sunglasses off to the left-hand side. I may only be shown for few seconds but that's a few seconds on tv so I don't care!
I never got a chance to travel when I was younger so the thought of a road trip through a bunch of states was exciting. Before I never got a chance to get to know the other people on my team very well because we all come from different backgrounds. By the time the trip was over we all became really great friends and know things about each other that only friends tell each other. Living with each other for the week really brought us closer together and I am very greatful for that. While we never actually got to stay in the city, we stayed outside in a little town calle Slidell at the Faith Bible Church. Here we met another team of college students from Dordt College in Iowa. We quickly became really good friends and that helped the week pass easier out in the middle of nowhere! I also got the chance to work with a crew from San Antonio Texas. These were a group of middle school kids that came down with their youth leader. Getting to work with all these different types of people was great.
We didn't go down there just to bond mind you, we went down there with a purpose. We went down there to bring the people of New Orleans some relief and to show them that they aren't forgotten about. The tourist section of the city may be fixed and running again, but the inner city hasn't even been touched. It's littered with crime and drugs and it's a very scary place to raise a family. We were sent down into the heart of the inner city, where drugs and violence run ramped, to clean vacent lots and to show the people that we still care about them.
The first day I remember was pretty interesting because I've never been in the inner city before and New Orleans is known for having some of the highest crime rates around. It is also where alot of drug exchanges happen. We were told that this is were we would be working, the drug corner. The whole time we were there we were told to never go off alone and to always have a guy accompany us, just in case somebody tried to jump us. If that wasn't enough to scare you, there were drug exchanges going down the entire day. But honestly I didn't feel scared at all. Just because there are a few difficult people around doesn't mean they all were. We got to meet some great people and you can't beat southern hospitality. Just to learn their stories was amazing and my heart weapt for these people and the hardships that they continue to go through everyday.
We learned of this one man whose name was Robert. He was a prisoner in the jail when the hurricane hit. The guards thought that these prisoners lives wern't meant to be saved and left them locked up. With the water rising the people inside had nowhere to go locked in their cells. Robert was on the 6th floor of the jail and he told us that he could hear the people screaming through the floor as they drowned. All he could do was pray and hope that somebody would come for him. He lived without food and water for 6 days before he could be rescued but he couldn't shake the thought of all those people who died and the screaming. He told us that he tried to committ suicide by laying on the railroad tracks, but heard God's voice that told him to get up and appreciate his life, for he was alive.
The second lady I remember most was named Florence. She lost her entire block to the flood but decided to stay and rebuild with her children. Me and three other volunteers stayed all day and just talked to her. She was so lonely and didn't have very many people to talk to. We learned that in order to escape the flood she had to climb onto the roof of an abandoned elementary school, and she is over 70! We just sat and had lunch with her and talked about everything from how the city was before the flood, to the days when her husband was alive! She was so grateful to have people to spend the day with and told us to keep in contact with her. I haven't had time to write to her yet but I definitly will. Her and her daughter were really amazing and I felt so awesome to be able to help her.
Just to sit and learn all the hardships these people had to go through and then looking at everything we have made me feel horrible. We don't understand all the things we have and take for granted, while the people down there are trying to rebuild from nothing. They just want their old lives back and I was a part of the rebuilding. It was amazing to feel God's presence around us, I mean just from working and not feeling scared about the neighborhood we were in or to walk up to complete strangers and ask them about their stories. Everynight after work we would go on a prayer walk or head to the "challenge circle". With the prayer walk we just walked through the city and prayed over it, for God to help the people get the confidence to rebuild, or to just touch their lives so they can get on the right track again. We prayed for the people of New Orleans and whoever they needed or whatever they needed. It's amazing to see what all these people have gone through and still have a large amount of faith in the Lord. My favorite moment of the prayer walk was at the end when we learned about a church that is being rebuilt. It has gone through alot, from scams to poor building but now is in the hands of the Urban Impact workers. It's called House of Hope and it is the light in the storm for many people of the 9th Ward. The challenge circle was fun because we got to hang out with the kids in the projects and taught them about God. These children are growing up sometimes without proper role models and that can lead them down dangerous paths. We partnered with a guy named Dingo who runs the children's programs. Not only does he teach them to have fun in a safe way, he teaches them about Jesus and why it is great to have a relationship with Him. That is one of the main goals of Urban Impact Ministries, making New Orleans a neighbourhood where kids can ride their bikes and also spreading the love of God to everyone they meet.
Now we did get to have lots of bonding time while we were down there. From going to the beach in Mississippi or talking random pictures on a back highway, we found many ways to have fun. I can't wait to go back again and felt like this has been a life-changing experience. There was so much more that I didn't talk about here that only someone who's been there would know. I felt my faith has grown stronger and I just loved being able to say that I had a chance to help. We met so many amazing staff members from Urban Impact and getting to work with so many volunteers was great. I can't wait to go back!
*Amanda*
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